In Miami (Florida), during UFC 299, Frenchman Benoît Saint Denis, a rising star in MMA, was knocked out this Saturday March 9 by the experienced American Dustin Poirier.
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The Frenchman Benoît Saint Denis (twelfth in the ranking), who remained on five consecutive victories, was knocked out by Dustin Poirier (35 years old), number three in the lightweight category. The 28-year-old Frenchman missed the opportunity to continue his rise in the prestigious UFC league MMA. Saint Denis, who seemed to dominate the fight, experienced a violent end in the second round (out of five), knocked to the ground with a hook before being finished off with a right, leaving him on the ground, bleeding, under cheers. of the public, won over to his opponent.
First suffocating round
On Saturday, “God of war”, his nickname, made his entrance as usual to the sound of commando singing and the emblematic “Seine-Saint-Denis style” of NTM. He immediately gave Poirier a suffocating first round, working him to the body, on the ground, girdling him, to try to submit him. A tactic which seemed to pay off as the American seemed exhausted by the Frenchman’s infernal pace.
“BSD” attacked the second round with the same strategy, but was picked off by the quick fists of Justin “Diamond” Poirier. A first left uppercut made the Frenchman wobble, who then sought the clinch again. Two terrible right-left hooks then reached Saint Denis, who was knocked to the ground by another right hook before being finished off by a violent punch while he was already lying in the middle of the octagon.
Missed opportunity
In Miami, Saint Denis may have missed the opportunity to be offered a fight for the lightweight belt, having been enjoying a seemingly irresistible rise until then. “ He hurt me, he is strong », Launched Poirier after the fight. “ I took this fight because he had finished his previous five before the limit, even if he was not very well known. He’s a dangerous guy. I have a lot of respect for Saint Denis, his state of mind. He will come back », added the one who had twice dominated the legend Conor McGregor in 2021 while remaining with a defeat in 2023.
“BSD” suffered the second defeat of his career in Miami and will have to go through intermediate fights before getting a glimpse of the summit.
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